To keep it open, he sipped hot ginger tea (the steam helped again) and held a warm, damp washcloth over his ear for five minutes. The warmth relaxed the muscles around the tube.
His mom warned him: “Never blow hard. Gentle only.” Leo closed his mouth, pinched his nostrils shut, and gently breathed out as if blowing up a soft balloon. He pushed no harder than a sigh. Pop-pop. The pressure equalized. The muffled feeling vanished like a curtain opening. how to open a blocked ear at home due to cold
One Tuesday morning, Leo woke up feeling stuffy. His nose was clogged, his head felt heavy, and—strangest of all—his right ear seemed to be stuffed with cotton. When he poured his morning cereal, the clinks of the spoon sounded distant, like sounds traveling through water. To keep it open, he sipped hot ginger